


Ride on

by energie_vie



Series: Magnetic [8]
Category: The Old Guard (Comics), The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Masturbation, Mild Language, Mutual Pining, POV Nile Freeman, Post-Movie: The Old Guard (2020), Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:08:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27627946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/energie_vie/pseuds/energie_vie
Summary: "Somewhere in the depths of her heart Nile knows this entire thing is fully reciprocated but maybe it's just not the time yet. Or maybe she's a coward. Either way, it doesn't mean she can't enjoy the ride and the entire notion makes so much sense that it feels like all the haze around her brain is slowly lifting."
Relationships: Booker | Sebastien le Livre/Nile Freeman
Series: Magnetic [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1987831
Comments: 21
Kudos: 113





	Ride on

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WinterEquinox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterEquinox/gifts), [druidspell](https://archiveofourown.org/users/druidspell/gifts).



> I'm not gonna say what song inspired this title because I really can't remember the artist's name. Anyway, it was quite catchy a thousand years ago and that's all that matters :P
> 
> As usual, feel free to jump to the [Gooey](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1983568) series for the established relationship. The Magnetic series acts as the prequel.
> 
> EDIT: cover art at the end of the story by the wonderful StarWatcher.

He has her pressed against the wall, hands roaming all over her body. He's kissing her neck hungrily and she's got her hands tangled in his hair, eyes closed in pure bliss. There's nothing occupying her senses but him and the rush of it all is making her light-headed. And then she gasps awake.

'Fucking son of a bitch,' Nile whispers angrily and if she weren't bunking with Andy and Quynh, she'd bury her face in the pillow and scream in frustration.

She's lost count of how many erotic dreams she's had of Booker ever since their undercover mission almost two months ago and it's starting to get embarrassing. She always feels like she's burning when she wakes up and her pulse is through the roof, as if she'd been running a fucking marathon.

The good thing is that tonight she has a bed all to herself. She's had to share a bed with him twice since that night and it had been horrible. Call it karma or whatever but the dreams those two nights had been even more intense and when she had woken up disoriented only to find him smiling in his sleep no more than twenty centimetres away she had honestly felt like punching something.

Nile knows she won't be able to wind down unless she flows with the feeling till the very end so she shoves one hand in her panties and closes her eyes. It's weird that she's doing this with two other people in the room but the thought only lasts a second, pushed aside by more enticing ones, like the memory of Booker's tongue in her mouth or the way he had moaned when she had bitten his lower lip.

It takes her less than thirty seconds to reach the finish line, so to speak and this _has_ to be a fucking record. She lies staring at the ceiling for what feels like forever and then resigns herself to losing a few hours of sleep, so she gets out of bed and tiptoes quietly out of the room.

The universe has decided to really fuck with her tonight because she finds Booker in the living room, sprawled on the couch with his laptop on his stomach. Now, if Nile were sane and had any self-preservation instincts whatsoever, she would turn on her heels and put some distance between them.

But no, she's decidedly masochistic because instead of running away as far as possible, she gravitates towards him like a moth to the flame. She's already having wet dreams of him, what's the worst that could happen?

Booker raises his eyes when he hears footsteps and smiles softly when he realises it's her.

'Couldn't sleep?' he asks.

'More like, couldn't fall _back_ asleep.'

'Bad dream?'

'Mm, not really,' she says vaguely. And then, because it's the middle of the night and she's always more daring in the dark, 'I dreamt of you, actually.'

'Oh? Do tell.'

'We were dancing,' she lies.

'Nice. I like dancing with you.'

'So do I,' she smiles. 'What time is it?'

'Half past one. Wanna join me?'

'Depends. What are you watching?'

'Debunked conspiracy theories.'

'You're so weird,' Nile laughs. 'I think I'll pass.'

'Well, what do _you_ wanna do?'

And this right here is why she's fallen in love with him. He could have easily left her to her own devices but instead, he's willing to do whatever _she_ wants. This can't be just friendship, Nile thinks, it just can't.

'Mm. Smoke a cigarette. Dance. Make pancakes.'

'In this order?' Booker laughs.

'Yes,' she says stubbornly.

'Ok,' he says, closing the laptop and getting up from the couch. 'Let me find my cigarettes.'

They smoke in pleasant silence while leaning next to each other on the kitchen counter.

'What song do you want?'

'You choose,' Nile says and regrets it instantly - of course he goes for _Macarena_.

'You can't be serious!'

'You said I could choose,' he whines and literally pouts.

'Seb, I'm not doing the Macarena.'

'How about _after_ the pancakes?' Booker pleads with puppy eyes and damn it, she can't say no to him anymore. When the hell did this happen?

'Fine,' she huffs in mock annoyance. 'But pick another one for now.'

To her surprise he plays a song with slow and sultry beats and this time Nile gets giddy with anticipation. It starts like a hug, his arms around her waist and hers around his neck and then they're just swaying on the spot. And just like that, the background fades away yet again.

They haven't talked about the kiss since that night. Not much to talk about, in all honesty and the stakes are so high that it's terrifying to even contemplate risking messing everything up. Somewhere in the depths of her heart Nile knows this entire thing is fully reciprocated but maybe it's just not the time yet. Or maybe she's a coward. Either way, it doesn't mean she can't enjoy the ride and the entire notion makes so much sense that it feels like all the haze around her brain is slowly lifting.

Yeap, this is a hell of a ride and why rush it when it's so damn compelling. She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes and squeezes him just a bit tighter, only to feel him squeezing back and kissing the top of her head. Compelling indeed.

'Right, pancakes,' Booker says softly and Nile's not really surprised she hadn't noticed the song had ended.

'I'll get the ingredients, you handle the equipment,' she says in a no-nonsense tone that makes Booker chuckle.

'Yes, ma'am!'

Two minutes later, he's pouring everything in a large bowl and whisking thoroughly.

'We need to wait at least thirty minutes. Wanna watch something?'

'Why do we need to wait? Also, you forgot the baking powder.'

'I didn't forget it, I deliberately ignored it.'

'How are we supposed to make pancakes without baking powder?' she asks, looking very confused.

'We're making _crêpes_ , dearest, not some culinary abomination that I can't even think about without feeling nauseous.'

'You're such a snob!' Nile laughs and Booker just shrugs.

They end up curled together on the couch, watching some sitcom suggested by Netflix that's actually quite catchy, so the thirty minutes turn into a full hour.

'Now, please be so kind as to observe and take notes,' he grins cheekily and Nile rolls her eyes and hops on the counter next to the stove.

Booker seems to be quite in his element, pouring the perfect amount of batter and tilting the pan carefully in all directions so that it spreads evenly. He's also very focused, tongue poking out to the side, a detail that Nile resolutely chooses not to dwell upon and when he flips the pancake with a deft flick of the wrist, she actually shrieks with laughter and claps delightedly.

'It's both fascinating and infuriating how I still discover things about you that are absolutely impressive,' Nile teases.

'Careful, I might start fishing for compliments and ask you to list what you've discovered so far.'

It would be such a long list, she thinks and glosses over his remark.

'How come you're not in the kitchen more often?' she asks instead.

'Mm, I'm not nearly as skilled as Nicky and he really does enjoy cooking, so kicking him out of the kitchen would be akin to blasphemy,' Booker laughs. 'And to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't really have the patience to cook on a daily basis.'

Within ten minutes there is a mountain of pancakes on a plate, all golden and smelling heavenly and Nile's mouth is literally watering.

'I can't wait to dig in!' she exclaims. 'We have Nutella, right?' she checks.

Booker groans and pinches the bridge of his nose in obvious frustration.

'I'll pretend I didn't hear that,' he mutters.

'What's wrong with Nutella?' Nile asks confusedly.

'Nothing. I just want to make something special, so bear with me five more minutes,' he says, covering the pancakes with a towel.

He's gathering more ingredients and Nile has no idea what he intends to do with butter, sugar, an orange and is that brandy? It's a total mystery.

'Go sit down at the table, I'll be with you right away,' he says and true to his word, in less than five minutes he places a plate in front of her that looks and smells incredibly appetizing.

'These, my dear, are _crêpes Suzette_ ,' Booker says and that little rolled R is enough to make her sigh longingly.

She carefully cuts a morsel and places it in her mouth and the instant she feels the explosion of flavour she lets out a long moan that has Booker chuckle happily.

'Oh. My. God!'

'Good?' he asks shyly.

'Are you kidding me? "Good" would be the understatement of the century! These are mind-blowingly amazing. I don't think I can ever go back to Nutella after this.'

Booker's face lights up, mouth splitting into a huge smile and eyes crinkling at the corners and Nile's heart stutters. 

'This is my favourite smile,' she quickly says before she has the chance to change her mind and marking it as a personal victory when he blushes just a little.

'I'm sure you've noticed that it's just for you,' he says softly and lookie here, the ride has just turned into a fucking rollercoaster.

'You know,' Nile says, glossing over this little comment too, 'since you're clearly spoiling me, I'm not even gonna complain about having to do the Macarena.'

'Finish your pancakes first,' he laughs.

'But I'm not dancing alone,' she warns him when she's done eating.

'Of course not.'

She hasn't willingly played the song since she was in middle school, when it used to be a hit at birthday parties, so it takes her a bit to remember the moves. Booker is not even trying, just flailing his arms randomly and always off-beat.

'You're so bad at this!' she laughs out loud while executing the moves almost flawlessly.

'It's ok, you're compensating,' he smirks and then they both laugh like idiots, until they're interrupted by Andy's incredulous voice from the doorway.

'What the flying fuck is wrong with you two?'

\---

**Author's Note:**

> You can also find me on [Tumblr](https://energievie.tumblr.com/) in case you wanna say hi :)


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